Monday, April 12, 2010

The Art Box – April 12, 2010

The Art Box stayed pretty much the same this past week as it was the previous week (lazy mama syndrome), with the addition of some stickers and a wooden caboose to go with the train M has been putting together.

M needs a kick in the pants. Or something. He has been following me around for the past week saying “what can I do? Can I watch TV? (no) I can’t think of anything to dooo… whine, whine, whine.” I’m pretty fed up with it. He is suddenly not interested in even looking through his art box, unless it’s as a final resort to tackle the boredom.

Anyway, this is all just to say what was done here was done only half-heartedly and I’m thinking of taking the art box away for a couple of weeks and simply putting out an art project (open ended, but not entirely child-directed) that he can choose to do or not do. I am hoping to renew his interest in using his imagination and creativity. My theory is he’s been sick on and off for the past 2 to 3 weeks and during that time has been allowed to watch too much tv and videos. They can be a lifesaver sometimes with a sick kid, but they sure can become addictive and stifle the imagination pretty quickly! I’ll still be doing my Art Box posts, but they may look a bit different for a couple of weeks.

M did enjoy painting his wooden caboose, albeit reluctantly:

He colored this coloring page with his sparkly gel pens:I love how close he’s getting to actually staying within the lines. And I wish you could see how this thing glimmers in the sunlight!

M picked out two little pots at Target to move his sprouts into. We planted some forget-me-not and shamrock seeds a while back and they are doing quite well. It’s definitely time to move them to larger pots. He decorated these first with some foam stickers:

Finished product (minus the plants):

He drew a picture for Daddy:

Then taped pieces of scrap paper to the back of it:

Then drew one for Mommy:He gave this to me, then very sweetly asked me to be his Valentine. :) It’s a good thing Mama thinks you’re cute, kiddo!

Have some children’s artwork you’d like to share? Link it up below, and make sure to include a link back here in your blog post!

I am sorry that M was not too much into his Art Box this week. Maybe he has cabin fever from being cooped up with illness for so long. Anna is crazy about scotch tape too, but still can't tear it off the dispenser herself (lucky me!) I liked his pictures for you and for daddy - so sweet of him.

So, my child isn't the only one wandering around, acting bored, trying to get into trouble, but then not completely interested in things I try to help him get interested in? ;) I think you're right that it's a symptom of being sick and now getting back on track. I wonder if it's also sort of an end of winter/early spring thing, the craziness of being cooped up indoors all winter. I know that we are ready to get outdoors a lot more!

I am sorry to hear that poor M has been sick off and on for a couple of weeks. That is always hard and it usually means sleep deprivation all round which is never easy, or fun. Fingers crossed, this will surely be the last bit of illness you see for a while.

I like how M decorated his pots - super cute.

Thank you so much for your lovely words and well wishes for the arrival of Taleea. Your kindness is appreciated.

We haven't linked up in forever. Johnsie hasn't wanted to do any art either. It has been so nice here that we are spending a ton of time outside. I actually did take our art box away for a few weeks so hopefully when I bring it back he will be more interested. We shall see. So glad M is finally feeling better.

Ha ha. Crumpet has been watching a fair amount of tv while we pack, and now every second that he is not occupied, he's saying "can I watch a kid show??" . Uggh. I've threatened to have no t.v in our next house, but my husband wouldn't survive... Fortunately, Crumpet will also spend hours playing with Legos so at least he's not constantly in front of the t.v. In fact that made me think of a post.. Good luck. LOVED the plant pots.

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About Me

I am a wife of 13 years and mother of two sons, ages 6 and brand new. We have a lot of fun learning and growing together. I share a bit of that here, and welcome you to follow us along our happy (but sometimes exhausting) little journey.
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